On May 14th & 15th, the WD team had the pleasure of attending the Empower Denver Women’s Business Conference. It was a fun and thought provoking couple of days, complete with morning yoga, speaker sessions and networking happy hours (think Champagne + Health-Ade Kombucha!). We learned a ton about ourselves & each other, and also had the opportunity to make connections with so many talented local women in business. It was such an enriching experience that we wanted to share, so read on.

Day 1

The first thing to be said about Day 1 was the location of the event: the historic Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Capitol Hill, Denver. The space was absolutely gorgeous, featuring a grand staircase, ballrooms, and a special downstairs room laced with charm and sparkly light strands, that was used for breakout & speaker sessions. And, yes, we spent our breaks researching what we could find about the mansion REALLY being haunted – and apparently it was/is!

The day began with a relaxing yet challenging session of Yin-style yoga led by Fort Collins-based yoga instructor and entrepreneur Lindsay Roselle. Yin yoga involves holding passive floor poses for 3-5 minutes, which allows for deeper stretch of the muscles. It’s amazing how difficult it is to keep your body and mind still for just a couple minutes. We were left feeling completely energized and ready to take it all in.

Our first speaker of the day was our Yin yoga instructor, Lindsay Roselle. We loved hearing her personal story of working in a male-dominated corporate job throughout her 20s, and her realization of the necessity to maintain supportive female relationships. As an all-women team, we totally support and embrace this mindset – we are so much stronger together and will continue to build each other up, rather than comparing ourselves to others.

Our next session was a workshop entitled Women + Power, led by career & life coach Dawn Todd. We learned how to be female leaders in today’s world, and how to draw from our innate power sources to lead an abundant, fulfilled life.

After lunch, we settled in for our last session of the day, led by Maeve Richard and Brandy Hodgson. Our time was very forward-focused – reflecting on “What’s next?” in our lives. We ended the session with an activity that involved jotting down on post-it notes that we want to say yes and no to more in our lives, which were then placed on designated areas of the wall. “Yes” to finding the time to be inspired creatively and “No” to busy work!

The day concluded with a networking/happy hour, at which we had a booth set up to share more about what we do and are all about! We spent weeks preparing for this event and were happy to finally be able to see everything come together. The main feature of the booth was our Instagram giveaway contest. Attendees were given a chance to win two beautiful gift crates full of health & wellness related goodies and experiences for themselves and a friend. We loved curating these crates with the help of some fabulous local female business owners, who so graciously donated their products and services to bring this all together. They included our favorite fitness classes, holistic nutrition services, superfood supplements and beautiful teas and handmade skincare products. Here’s another HUGE thank you to MOVMNT Fitness, Adrienne Partridge, Pilates Evolution, StudiOG, Sara Peternell Nutrition Services, Simplified Superfoods and Capital Tea!!

Day 2

Our second day began with another session of yoga, followed by a workshop led by leadership coach Cathie Chen-Rennie. The theme of this workshop was “I am Remarkable,” in which we practiced self-promotion skills. We were challenged to write down characteristics and accomplishments that we are proud of, and share them with our individual breakout groups – because there is no reason to keep them to ourselves!

Our next speaker was Jordan Rogers, who shared some tips on the art of negotiation. The session featured an activity where we broke into pairs and practiced our negotiation skills using a specific, predetermined scenario, which may or may not have involved Justin Bieber and backup dancers?!

39 weeks pregnant and bad-ass goal coach, Jacki Carr was the keynote speaker of the conference, and she wrapped things up on a great note – one that involved A LOT of laughter. Jacki touched on a variety of topics, including beliefs, boundaries, and legacy. We were encouraged to think about the mark we want to leave on this world, and how we will work to achieve it. We’re feeling inspired and motivated – so watch out world!

It was such a blast learning about the other amazing women in this crew and making new connections that will span beyond business. We must give a shout-out to the founder and organizer of the event, Sommer Grandchamp, for all the time & effort she put into creating the event. Lastly, we also want to thank the speakers for their insight into being successful, powerful women in today’s world. All in all, it was a wonderful experience for the WD team, and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to attend. What a special couple of days!